A battery (battery module) is mounted on a hybrid vehicle which travels using an engine and a motor in combination, an electric vehicle which travels only using a motor, and the like to store electric power and supply the electric power to the motor (for example, JP-A-2010-285070 and JP-A-2012-099288). The battery is accommodated generally as a part of a power equipment unit in a case together with high-voltage electrical components including an inverter and the like.
The case of the power equipment unit has an intake port for taking cooling air into the case. In a structure where the case of the power equipment unit is disposed in a passenger compartment, however, when an occupant spills a large amount of liquid such as drink near the power equipment unit, there is a risk that the liquid flows from the intake port into the case of the power equipment unit. When the large amount of liquid flows into the case of the power equipment unit, there is a risk that the battery is flooded. From such reasons, the intake port of the case desirably adopts such a liquid infiltration preventing structure that the liquid is not easily infiltrated into the case even in a case where the large amount of liquid is spilled.
On the other hand, the power equipment unit is provided with a maintenance/inspection plug which is a switch for shutting off a circuit of the battery and performs work safely at the time of performing maintenance of the battery. Since electric parts constituting a part of the circuit of the battery are disposed in the periphery of the maintenance/inspection plug, it is preferable to cool it appropriately.
However, when being disposed close to the intake port, the maintenance/inspection plug is likely to be affected by the liquid infiltration preventing structure of the above-described intake port, and thus the maintenance/inspection plug may highly be subjected to flooding.